IND vs PAK Today Match Prediction - The greatest rivalry between India and Pakistan gets into the second round after rain spoiled the match and the moods of the fans. The two Asian giants now meet each other in a Super Four clash in Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium on September 10. The fans are waiting in anticipation to watch these two having a crack against each other and will want the weather to stay away.
Pakistan are coming off an easy win over Bangladesh in their first Super Four encounter, while the Rohit Sharma-led side will play its first in the second stage of the tournament. The Super Four clash between these two teams is only one of the two matches in the entire Asia Cup to have the privilege of a reserve day, with the final being the other.
Rahul, Bumrah in for India?
India will look to bring in KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah. Rahul is returning from a thigh injury, while Bumrah has not bowled in ODIs since July 2020. While Bumrah can be an easy incomer in the team, adjusting Rahul in place of Ishan Kishan will be a tough call that the team management has to make. Rahul is training with the Indian team and also did a wicket-keeping simulation in the Friday practice. Bumrah missed the game against Nepal due to the birth of his child and did not get to bowl in the Pakistan match as rain washed out the second innings.
Pakistan add more pace
It's a no-brainer that Pakistan is a pace powerhouse and even the top players like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill acknowledged the threat that their neighbouring pacers bring. The Babar Azam's side announced its playing XI for India clash a day before and added another pacer to the team that last took on India on September 2.
The Men in Green have added Faheem Ashraf to make a four-pronged pace attack. He will partner Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.
Predicted Top performers
Best batter Prediction - Virat Kohli: Former India captain Virat Kohli enjoys batting at R Premadasa. He has scored the joint second-most hundreds at the venue - 3. Kohli is also the leading run-scorer among active Indians at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Best bowler Prediction - Shaheen Afridi: Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi can be a bowler to watch out for. He broke the backbone of the Indian batting when he got the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. With his threatening inswinging pace balls, Shaheen also possesses slower deliveries which can outsmart the batters on the pitch which is likely to be two-paced.
India's Probable Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan's Playing XI:
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Match winner Prediction: India
